Ordained (The Immortal Archives) by Ashley Devon

Author:Ashley, Devon [Ashley, Devon]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-03-19T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

It had been several hours since Abby left at dusk. Midnight had come and gone.

It was usually difficult for Noel to sense Abby’s whereabouts. Fear he could sense everywhere, particularly from members of the Order and the occasional child that wandered through the manor.

But with Abby, fear was never an issue. For Abby, he always had to rely on instincts. He had studied her habits for decades, observed her moods and the actions that followed. Given the current situation, he felt she would seek solitude - and answers.

After searching the conservatory and their bedroom suite, he found her in the front pew of the temple. The room was small and lit with ornamental torches. At the front of the room was a marble statue of Athena. Unlike the others within the manor, it depicted her not as a great warrior in battle armor, but as a beautiful goddess, draped in gathered cloth and crown.

Abby was crouched over, tracing the lines on her hands. Noel leaned in behind her from the second pew.

“She can’t answer you,” he said quietly.

“Answer what?” she asked quietly back.

“The question you’ve been asking yourself ever since you learned who you are. Why me?”

Abby dropped her hand and leaned back, keeping her head facing forward. “Doesn’t really matter, does it? What could she possibly tell me that would make me feel any better?”

“Just as well. Zeus has forbidden any interference from the gods this time,” explained Noel. “Where did you go earlier?”

“Back to Twindel’s.”

Noel stiffened up. “Abby, going beyond the manor gates leaves you open for an ambush.”

Abby’s words turned emotionless. “Doubt it. I’m destined to fight this demon whether I want to or not. Nothing will keep us from meeting one another come spring.”

Damn it. Noel left the second pew and sat down next to her in the first.

“The grinloch won’t be the last demon to come. Morphus will try as many demons as he can to eliminate you before confrontation.”

Abby didn’t respond, only sighed deeply.

“You look really exhausted,” he added, gently tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Mentally I am.”

“Good.”

Abby looked at him curiously. She hadn’t bothered to think beyond his statement to understand the meaning of it.

“That’s the best time for you to practice conjuring the elements. The weaker you are, the harder it’ll be to access your powers. You need to learn to overcome that.”

With nothing more than a ‘hmm,’ Abby left the temple somberly. His prior concerns of bringing Abby here were amplified. The stress of their impending future was breaking her down - dealing with the Order, discovering the harshness of her childhood, learning her life has never been her own, learning an associate of the Order is not only aware of her secret but may end up seeing other secrets she doesn’t wish to share, being attacked by a demon most likely sent by another demon to kill her, etc. It just kept piling on. Fearing this would lead her down the path in favor of evil once again, he prayed to Athena to keep it from happening, particularly before meeting Morphus.

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